Auto companies can’t get Japan parts

By MW Staff

An expected bottleneck in parts coming from Japan is starting to show up on the U.S. factory floor.

MarketWatch auto reporter Shawn Langlois reports that General Motors is suspending operations at its Shreveport, Louisiana plant, blaming a shortage of parts from Japan. It doesn’t take much to back up a factory line, one analyst points out. “If you can’t get that core part, it doesn’t matter if you get 50% of your components from Japan or just half of 1%,” says IHS Automotive analyst Michael Robinet. Without a needed part, production grinds tLog Outo a halt.

The big crunch could come in the electronics that are increasingly integral to modern cars due to Japan’s role making chips. As columnist Therese Poletti points out, prices for some electronics components are expected to rise. Read Therese Poletti’s Tech Tales. — Laura Mandaro

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